Wasabi good or bad for health?

The wasabi plant (Wasabia japonica) grows naturally in the mountains of Japan in the gravel and sandbars of coldwater streams and rivers. Rare and difficult to grow, it takes three years for a wasabi root or rhizome to reach maturity. Because of its popularity, wasabi is now cultivated hydroponically and in cold, wet environments outside of Japan, such as in New Zealand and Oregon. Traditionally, the rhizome was freshly grated at the table with a sharkskin grater, popular with dishes such as seafood or udon noodles. Now wasabi is usually dried into powder form and made into the pale green paste familiar to most westerners. Often, however, restaurants do not serve real wasabi; since it is so rare and expensive, a dyed horseradish paste is served in most American restaurants.

What makes wasabi so special? It comes from a good family; the brassica vegetables in the cruciferae family include such health giants as broccoli, horseradish, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and kale. All of these are well-known detoxifying plants, and wasabi appears to be the most amazing of them all, with detox capacities far beyond the others in the family because it is loaded with isothiocyanate precursors. This chemical not only gives wasabi its famous “fire,” it is likewise a fireball of detoxification properties.

There are different stories from different source and wether which to believe, your call…

Source taken from Sciencedaily
Hideki Masuda, Ph.D., director of the Material Research and Development Laboratories at Ogawa & Co., Ltd., in Japan, reported that isothiocyanates – chemical compounds found in wasabi – inhibited the growth of Streptococcus mutans, the bacteria that cause dental caries, during test-tube studies.

The effect comes from wasabi’s ability to interfere with the sucrose-dependent adherence of the cells, Masuda says.

The isothiocyanate compounds, which are responsible for wasabi’s pungent taste and smell, are similar to those that produce the characteristic flavors of broccoli and cabbage.

The isothiocyanates in wasabi are already known to have a variety of beneficial health effects. They have been implicated in cancer prevention, found to prevent harmful blood clots, and demonstrated anti-asthmatic properties. In addition, wasabi has antimicrobial properties – which may account for its popularity as an accompaniment to raw fish.

Source taken from Vitanetonline
Wasabi has powerful detoxification properties, in particular, it supports the immune system and cleanses the liver. Wasabi contains precursors to phytochemicals called isothiocyanates that help remove toxic substances that are stored in the liver’s fatty tissues.

The rare wasabi plant is a natural, potent support to a healthy, cleansed liver that in turn affects the detoxification and cleansing of the entire body. Source Naturals is pleased to bring you this convenient, effective addition to your wellness program.

Source taken from Prevent Disease
“Actually, wasabi is a congestant,” study author Dr. David S. Cameron stated. “It makes the space of your nasal passages smaller, but it makes you feel more open.”

Cameron explained that wasabi probably clogs up sinuses by increasing blood flow to the lining of the nose. That extra blood takes up space, he said, which constricts the nasal passageway.

Wasabi may make the nose feel more open, Cameron noted, by causing changes that increase the cooling effect of air breathed through the nose, or by stimulating flaring of the nostrils, which enables air to flow more easily though the nose.